Patents by Inventor Kenneth Sean Gilmour

Kenneth Sean Gilmour has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Directly assigning desktop backgrounds
    Patent number: 8635549
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer-storage media for customizing the appearance of a desktop background are provided. The desktop is the bottom surface drawn behind the application windows, gadgets, a task bar, and other user interface elements displayed on a computing screen. Embodiments of the present invention allow a user to customize the background by dragging an image representation from a desktop control panel onto a portion of the desktop. Once dropped onto the desktop, the image associated with the representation is used to generate the desktop background. When the desktop is extended to different monitors, the portion of desktop on each monitor may be customized separately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: David B. Perry, Kenneth Sean Gilmour, Sanjeev Kewal Verma
  • DIRECTLY ASSIGNING DESKTOP BACKGROUNDS
    Publication number: 20120210263
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer-storage media for customizing the appearance of a desktop background are provided. The desktop is the bottom surface drawn behind the application windows, gadgets, a task bar, and other user interface elements displayed on a computing screen. Embodiments of the present invention allow a user to customize the background by dragging an image representation from a desktop control panel onto a portion of the desktop. Once dropped onto the desktop, the image associated with the representation is used to generate the desktop background. When the desktop is extended to different monitors, the portion of desktop on each monitor may be customized separately.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2011
    Publication date: August 16, 2012
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: DAVID B. PERRY, KENNETH SEAN GILMOUR, SANJEEV KEWAL VERMA
  • ALERTING USERS USING A MULTIPLE STATE STATUS ICON
    Publication number: 20100073160
    Abstract: A user alert system is described that provides multiple dimensions of information to a user through a status icon. Initially the status icon displays a neutral state that informs the user that the user alert system is running, but there are currently no relevant alerts for the user to view. When the user alert system receives a lower priority alert, the system determines if the number of lower priority alerts received exceeds a threshold. If the number of lower priority alerts exceeds the threshold, then the user alert system modifies the status icon to display a low alert state. When the user alert system receives a higher priority alert, the system modifies the status icon to display a high alert state. Thus, the user alert system displays both the existence of alerts and the priority of the alerts to the user at the same time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2008
    Publication date: March 25, 2010
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth Sean Gilmour, Tedd K. Dideriksen, Thomas H. Alphin, Latika Kirtane, Chantal M. Leonard, Christopher J. Clark